Man Seized for Alleged Threat to Shoot Anchorwoman Lange

An infatuated fan who wrote letters and sent gifts to news anchor Kelly Lange for five years was arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot the KNBC-TV newswoman, authorities said Monday.

Warren Sevy Hudson, who allegedly told a co-worker that he was “bored with life and that he was going to Burbank to shoot Kelly Lange,” was charged with making a terrorist threat on the Channel 4 anchorwoman.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said that for five years, Hudson, 57, had been writing letters, making phone calls and sending gifts to Lange, which were returned.

A KNBC executive contacted the district attorney’s office Thursday and said he had been notified of the threat, which was allegedly made Wednesday, authorities said.

Lost Job

Police launched an investigation, interviewed the co-worker and found out that Hudson had been fired Thursday from his job as a laborer at a gold bullion exchange.

Hudson was arrested Friday at a motel where he lived. Police said they recovered a .38-caliber Colt revolver and ammunition when they arrested him.

Hudson was scheduled to be arraigned today. The district attorney’s office said it would ask for $50,000 bail.

Lange and KNBC had no comment on the arrest, station spokeswoman Regina Miyamoto said.

“This is in the hands of the police, the district attorney and the courts,” Miyamoto said.

A recent spate of threats and acts of violence against celebrities have produced concern and even legislation on the issue of celebrity safety.

In June, a state parole board delayed for at least nine months the release of Arthur Jackson, convicted of a nearly fatal knife attack on actress Theresa Saldana in 1982. From prison, Jackson wrote letters threatening Saldana.

Inspired Law

Jackson’s eligibility for parole after serving seven years of a 12-year prison sentence has been assailed by Saldana. It inspired a new state law to keep violent, mentally ill prisoners in mental hospitals after they complete their sentences.

In July, police arrested a Canadian woman who loitered around NBC-TV studios in Burbank for several days and refused orders to leave, as fans lined up to see “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.” Guards found an 11-inch knife in her backpack.

On July 18, Robert John Bardo, 19, is alleged to have shot actress Rebecca Schaeffer to death at the door of her Los Angeles apartment. Bardo has been described as an “obsessed fan” of the 21-year-old actress.